You might be asking yourself: why is the Speaker of the House signing a piece of legislation before it is sent to the president Short answer: after a bill is passed by the House and Senate, it is enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate (depending on where it started the process). Enrollment involves examining the bill for accuracy and preparing a final version for the president to sign. Once a bill is enrolled, the Speaker signs the bill first, followed by the Vice President, and it is then submitted by the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate to the president for enactment. For more details, heres the long answer.